Pipe with replaceable corncob inner bowl



Aug. 20, 1968 C. J. OTTO PIPE WITH REPLACEABLE CORNCOB INNER BOWL Filed July 29, 1966 Carl J. 0H0

INVENTOR.

wdd m- United States Patent 3,397,703 'PIPE WITH REPLACEABLE CORNCOB INNER BOWL Carl J. Otto, Washington, Mo., assignor to Missouri Meerschaum Co., a corporation of Missouri Filed July 29, 1966, Ser. No. 568,911 2 Claims. (Cl. 131--201) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The pipe herein shown resembles a briar pipe. The bowl chamber has a saliva well and an annular ledge above the level of the well. The bowl bottom is axially bored, then counterbored to permit secluded but accessible use of holddown and fastening means for a replaceable corncob-liner having a centrally apertured bevelled bottom surface seated on the ledge. The liner fastening means comprises a stabilizing disk seated atop an endless shoulder at the lower end of the liner, the disk having smoke passing orifices and a depending screw-threaded neck for the shank of a screw-threaded headed fastener whose head is protectively confined in the counterbore.

This invention relates to a tobacco smoking pipe char; acterized by a molded stem and bit-equipped bowl preferably, but not necessarily, made of thermosetting material which is break-resistant, impervious to the passage of moisture and taste, and has a built-in permanent. finish, a complemental genuine corncob insert and liner providing an inner replaceable bowl for the chamber of the outer bowl, and structurally and functionally novel inner bowl assembling holddown and sealing means.

The pipe body herein disclosed is possessed of the shape, color, finish and appearance of a conventionaltype briar or meerschaum pipe. It is an innovation in that the chamber of the bowl is lined with a readily replace able inner bowl made of specially grown, aged and prepared corncob which, as is known, requires no breaking in, is accordingly sweet smoking and well serves the overall improved purposes for which it is commercially and otherwise intended.

Because of the inherent qualities and properties present in a bowl made of corncob, insertable liners and inner bowls made of such material are old and well known as revealed, for example, in the Graveures Patent 1,462,277 and, more significantly, in Strutz et al. 2,027,457. Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to advance the art of replaceable corncob bowls.

The manner in which the surfaces of the inner and outer bowls coact, or fail to coact as the case may be, has invariably posed a problem. In fact, the user often experiences perplexing difiiculties in inserting and subsequently removing the inner corncob bowl because it is either too small or too big. The required seal between the mating surfaces may jam or, alternatively, be so loose that undesirable air leakage results. Accordingly, the outer bowl here not only has a suitable dottle and saliva well but an annular ledge whose inner marginal edge provides an ideal seat and seal for an endless or annular bevel at the centrally apertured bottom of the corncob insert or inner bowl. The wedged-in fit at the conform ingly flush bowltops and stick-resisting clearance between median bowl surfaces insures unhampered inner bowl inserting and removal steps.

Another object is to provide a corncob inner bowl wherein the aperture in the bottom is adequate to provide a satisfactory drainage and smoke emitting hole, wherein the upper side of the bottom is flat and provides an annular seat for an adapter, and also wherein the underneath of the bottom is chamfered to provide the desired 3,397,703 Patented Aug. 20, 1968 ice annular seating and sealing bevel. The pipe includes a heat dissipating aluminum inner bowl holddown device comprising a stabilizing disk or adapter residing atop said adapter seat, said disk having draft orifices and a depending threaded neck functioning as a nut for the stem or shank of a simple headed disk clamping inner bowl holddown bolt, the latter properly oriented with the accessible underneath side of the bottom of the outer bowl.

Then, too, it will be noted that the neck is proportional to the encompassing relatively large smoke hole, that the disk is such in diameter that it cannot jam and that the orifices are suitably related to the hole with which they are aligned. Further, the well registers by way of a radial duct with the hollow portion of the integral stem. Hence, no special registration between the corncob insert or inner bowl and the duct is required.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view through a tobacco smoking pipe equipped with a replaceable corncob liner or inner bowl constructed in accordance with the invention and ready for use;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the complete pipe shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view with the inner corncob bowl in section and the assembling and holddown components in elevation; and

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the stem broken away and with the inner bowl or liner omitted.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 in particular, the pipe body is denoted at 6 and comprises an outer bowl 8 of conventional appearance provided at its bottom 10 with a lateral integral hollow stem 12 into which the reduced shouldered end portion 14 of the bit 16 is telescopingly and removably fitted, the bore of the bit having a filtering core 18 fitted therein and projecting into the hollow portion 20 of the stem. The hollow portion of the bowl provides a chamber 22 which is open at the top. The flat upper end of the bowl is denoted at 24. The lower portion of the chamber is reduced in cross-section to provide an annular seating ledge 26 and is further reduced to provide a shallow well 28 for trapping saliva and dottle. The well at one side is provided with a restricted duct 30 which communicates with the hollow portion of the stem. It will be noted that the main portion of the chamber or inner bowl receiver is gradually reduced in cross-section from the upper toward the lower end. In addition the bottom is provided with an accessible counterbore or recess 32 which serves a purpose to be later described. This pipe body 6 is made from moldable thermosetting material. It is currently being construced from phenolic resins or an equivalent synthetic plastic thus providing a break-resistant body which is impervious to the passage of moisture and taste and which also provides the desired built-in permanent finish resembling a briar o meerschaum pipe of conventional appearance. In this pipe body construction the small basin or well 28 at the bottom entraps and retains moisture and saliva and accumulated dottle. The paper filter 18 also comes into play and experience has shown that saliva that is not entrapped in the paper filter 18 is pooled in the well 28. The component wall portions of the phenolic components 8 and 12 promote cool smokmg.

The readily applicable and removable insert comprises a liner or bowl which is here differentiated as a replaceable corncob inner bowl 34. The upper edge of the open mouth portion 36 of the tobacco chamber 38 is coplanar inner bowl is telescopingly fitted into the chamber 22and retained in position as shown in FIG. 1. The body portion of the inner bowl is substantially circular in cross-section and the outer wall 40 tapers downwardly to provide the clearance shown in FIG. 1. The upper edge portion is fitted snugly within the mouth of the chamber 22 to provide the air seal desired. The underneath side of the bottom is chamfered and provides an annular bevel 42 between the marginal edge 44 and the fiat bottom surface 46. This bottom is provided with a flat annular interior seating surface 48 as shown in FIG. 3. There is also a relatively large centralized hole which provides the desired smoke passage and which is designated as a smoke emitting hole 50.

The assembling, positioning and holddown means for the inner bowl is made up of two component parts, namely, a holddown adapter 52 and a cooperating bolt 54. The adapter bolt is made of aluminum which is instrumental in dissipating heat from the smoke. The adapter comprises a fiat-faced disk 56 which is of a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the bottom of the chamber 38 and it rests on the surface 48. It is provided on its underneath side with an axial neck 58 which depends into the smoke emitting hole and which is axially screw-threaded as at 60 to provide a nut for the threaded shank 62 of the bolt. The head of the bolt is denoted at 64 and is provided with a screw-driver kerf 66. This bolt head fits into the aforementioned depression 62 when in use. The stabilizing disk is also provided with relatively small equidistant circumferentially spaced orifices 68 which communicatively register with the smoke emitting hole 50. The latter registers with the well 28 and the well registers with the hollow portion of the stem 12 by way of the lateral side duct 30. It will be further noted that when the inner bowl is in place the bevel 42 rests on the inner marginal edge of the ledge 26 and the truncated bottom portion 46 depends into the well 28.

The advantages of an easily removable corncob bowl are apparent in that the pipe can be completely renewed by discarding the old liner or insert and replacing the same with a new one. The manner in which this is accomplished is clear from the views of the drawing and therefore a more extended description is deemed to be unnecessary.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A tobacco pipe comprising a bowl having a chamber, an interior upwardly facing surface of said chamber having (1) an axial depression defining a well, (2) an annular supporting ledge level with the top of said well, (3) an axial bolt hole below and communicating with said well, and (4) a counterbore aligned with said bolt hole and opening downwardly through the underneath side of the bowls bottom, a replaceable corncob liner fitting telescopingly into and lining said chamber, said liner having a centrally apertured shoulder-equipped bottom communicatively aligned with said well, the underneath side of said bottom having an endless annular bevel seated firmly on and supported by an inward marginal edge of said ledge, and fastening means for said liner comprising a liner stabilizing and holddown disk of a diameter less than the outer diameter of said shoulder, said disk having a flat underneath side adapted to seat clampingly atop said shoulder and also having smoke passing circumferentially spaced orifices aligned with said smoke passing hole and provided at the center of said underneath side with a depending axial neck having an internally screw-threaded bore providing a nut, and a clamping bolt embodying a screw-threaded shank adapted to screw into said nut and having an integral head at the lower end of the shank, and said head having a screwdriver kerf.

2. The pipe defined in and according to claim 1 and wherein said disk and complemental neck is made of aluminum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 914,498 3/1909 Miiller 131-206 1,703,729 2/ 1929 Frais 131196 1,828,149 10/1931 Mallet 131-220 1,978,393 10/ 1934 Dickinson 131-220 2,138,322 11/1938 Douglas 131196 2,363,144 11/ 1944 Ricketts 131-225 X 3,292,639 12/1966 Zarikta 131196 X FOREIGN PATENTS 556,705 4/ 1923 France. 369,921 2/1923 Germany.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Primary Examiner. 

